Helen Jane Hirshey Paska

PASKA, Helen Jane Hirshey Of Kalamazoo Helen passed away Friday, September 14, 2007. She was born March 5, 1916 in Three Rivers, Michigan to Walter and Louise Hirshey. She was a graduate of Marcellus High School and earned a BA degree from the University of Michigan in 1938. After graduation Helen taught in the Vandalia Public Schools for several years. In the early 1940s she moved to Kalamazoo and worked at the Kalamazoo Optical Company. It was there after the war that she met John Paska Jr. They were married on September 16, 1948. She worked at Gilmore Brothers Department Store from the late 1960s until her retirement in 1986. Helen was a member of the Oakwood Oshtemo United Methodist Church and the Kalamazoo Amateur Astronomy Club. She instilled in her children and grandchildren a love of reading, a quest for knowledge, and an appreciation for education. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband John, and two brothers Winfield and Malcolm Hirshey. She is survived by her daughter Ann Larry Camburn of Richland, her son Ronald of Kalamazoo, grandchildren Kristin Camburn of Kalamazoo, Jonathan fiancée Erin Meyers Camburn of South Bend, Indiana, Angela Paska and Ryan Paska of Kalamazoo, and a brother John Hirshey of Marcellus. In accordance to her wishes, cremation has taken place. A memorial service will be held on Sunday, September 23, at 3:00 PM at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Augusta. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to the Kalamazoo Nature Center, Planned Parenthood, or a charity of one?s choice.